Turkey’s economy has shrunk for the first time in seven years. The news comes after a failed coup in July tightened domestic demand and devastated key industries like tourism. Following the coup attempt, Turkish authorities have arrested or detained more than 100,000 civil servants. The government has also seized more than 600 businesses — with assets exceeding $10bn — because of suspected links to Fethullah Gulen, an exiled cleric the government accuses of orchestrating the coup. According to figures released on Monday, gross domestic product shrank by nearly two percent in the third quarter compared with the same period in 2015. The Turkish lira has also been negatively impacted this year, losing about 20 percent of its value compared with the dollar. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan blamed foreign speculators for the drop in the currency's value. Moreover, the export value also declined and household consumption was down more than three percent. Prime Minister Binali Yildirim has already announced that government spending would be tightened next year. Radio Sputnik discussed the issue with Nader Habibi, Professor of the Economics of the Middle East at the Crown Center for Middle East Studies, Brandeis University.
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